The birth of a child, no matter the circumstances, brings a smile to the lips and a sense of joy to the heart. When a new life comes forth, it evokes the hope and the promise of the future; the years that stretch before that child and the possibilities that exist for life. All you have to do is be in a room where a newborn baby is and you see how even the hardest of hearts tend to melt and warm up.

And it seems so appropriate then on every New Years Eve/Day, as a church we celebrate the beginning of the religious life of Jesus, life that stretches before Him as the Messiah. Today marks his naming, his circumcision, the beginning of His Mission as Savior of the world. He is immersed in humanity just as He is naturally divine. And at the center of that mystery is the key to our salvation. Jesus became one of us that He might bring all of us to the Father and the Gift of eternal life that God wishes to share with us.

It is that same kind of hope that stretches before us too as we begin a New Year. We say goodbye to 2016 with all its joys and challenges. We look ahead to the weeks and months that are to come. No one knows what 2017 will bring but we place ourselves into the hands of God and rely upon his faithfulness throughout our history.

Tonight people everywhere will be ringing in the new with the hope and the promise of the future. May we walk with God all the days of this New year and may God continue to lead us closer to Himself and the gift of life He offers us everyday!